According to data released by the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone on May 7th, 2025, oil product inventories at the UAE’s Port of Fujairah remained relatively stable in the week ending May 5th. While there were declines in the stockpiles of fuel oils and middle distillates, these reductions were offset by a significant 9.4% increase in gasoline and other light distillates, reports S&P Global.
Marginal Increase
Total inventory in Fujairah saw a slight increase of 0.1%, reaching 20.742 million barrels, up from a one-month low recorded the previous week.
There were notable decreases in middle distillates, which fell by 20% to 1.730 million barrels, marking a seven-month low. Heavy distillates, used as fuel oil for power generation and ship fuel, also dropped by 2.6% to 10.462 million barrels, a six-week low.
Conversely, light distillates increased to 8.550 million barrels, recovering from a one-month low the week before.
Fuel oil exports from Fujairah are currently averaging a record monthly pace of 1 million barrels per day (b/d) in May. This is a significant surge compared to April’s average of 272,000 b/d, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea cargo-tracking data.
A substantial portion of these exports, 679,000 b/d, is heading to China. This represents the highest volume ever recorded, as the monthly average to China has been below 100,000 b/d since at least 2016, according to the same data.
Oil Flows
Around 155,000 b/d of fuel oil from Fujairah is destined for Singapore, marking the highest volume shipped to Singapore since June 2023. Interestingly, shipments to Saudi Arabia have ceased after three consecutive months of receiving fuel oils from Fujairah.
In a reverse flow, Saudi Arabia shipped 17,000 b/d of fuel oils to Fujairah this month. Other significant suppliers of fuel oil to Fujairah in May include Iraq, Russia, Kuwait, and Oman, according to the Commodities at Sea (CAS) data.
The increased demand for power generation in the Middle East, driven by high temperatures and air conditioning needs (with Dubai experiencing temperatures above 100°F for most of the past month), is likely contributing to the fuel oil market dynamics. ADNOC Gas has even noted that the hot weather boosts its natural gas sales for power generation.
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Source: S&P Global
